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Contrary to what we thought, the endemic Crested Quail-Dove was easy for us to find. We got several good views of this often difficult bird, making this a very Happy Thanksgiving for all! Photo by guide Jay VanderGaast.
I think we're pretty fortunate as North American birders to have the Caribbean islands so nearby. With several of the larger islands hosting a fair number of endemic species, the islands make for perfect short birding get-aways. The warm, sunny weather, even in winter, doesn't detract from their appeal, either! Jamaica, with its 27 endemics plus an assortment of other Caribbean specialties, was an ideal place to spend the Thanksgiving week, and I, for one, was very thankful to escape the winter weather back home and enjoy some hot Caribbean birding!
Our home for the period, the lovely Green Castle Estate, was a perfect base for our time on the island. Not only was it a comfortable "home" to return to each evening, but the grounds of the lodge itself held a good number of the endemic birds we had come here to see. Our time on the trails around the lodge gave us encounters with 16 of the endemics, with highlights that included an incredibly responsive pair of Jamaican Lizard-Cuckoos, our introduction to the charming Jamaican Tody, and daily looks at the spectacular Red-billed Streamertail, or Doctorbird. Jamaican Owl called nightly, and was seen by those of us that ventured out early one morning, and the non-endemic, but still cool Northern Potoo, was easily located around the lodge grounds after dark.
We had to venture further afield for the remainder of the island specialties, and so we did, with each site helping us to whittle down the list of endemics we still needed. A trip up to the higher parts of the Blue Mountains allowed us to catch up to several of the tougher to find species. The Mountain Witch, aka Crested Quail-Dove, gave itself up surprisingly easily, Blue Mountain Vireo wasn't much tougher, and Jamaican Blackbird, one of the rarest of the specialties, caused us just a small amount of anxiety before it, too, obligingly showed itself while we ate our lunches, with little effort on our part!. The next day's visit to Vinery gave us still more Crested Quail-Doves (who said this bird was tough?!?), plus Jamaican Pewee and a clean-up look at Yellow-shouldered Grassquit, which I might argue was the most difficult endemic to see well. And we finished up at Ecclesdown Road with super looks at both Black-billed and Yellow-billed Parrots, Jamaican Crow, and the black-billed form of Streamertail, which may deserve to be promoted to a good species on its own. The celebratory jerk lunch in Boston Bay was all the tastier with all the endemics under our belts. With no endemics remaining for our final day, we made a slight change to our plans, and were able to visit a site for Masked Duck, where a female and her ducklings were a much appreciated bonus on our bird lists.
The birds played a big role in making this a successful trip, but I need to give a shout out to a few locals that also had a big hand in making this a great trip. Our local guide Dwayne and driver Raymond were not only superb at their jobs, but awesome guys, too, and it was a pleasure to be in the field with the two of them. Rookie manager Laurie, did an admirable job ensuring that our stay at Green Castle Estate was excellent, and her staff, from chef Philbert to the various servers and cleaners and driver/handyman Tall Man all did their part to make our stay there enjoyable. And the wonderful Valerie was a perfect hostess for our final night's stay at the cozy Mynt Retreat. Finally, thanks to all of you for joining me on this trip. It was a pleasure to bird the island with you, and I hope we can do it again soon! Happy New Year to all of you.
--Jay
KEYS FOR THIS LIST
One of the following keys may be shown in brackets for individual species as appropriate: * = heard only, I = introduced, E = endemic, N = nesting, a = austral migrant, b = boreal migrant
We heard this Jamaican Owl calling at night, and managed to get a good (if somewhat awkward) view of it as well. Photo by participant Jan Wood.
Anatidae (Ducks, Geese, and Waterfowl)
BLUE-WINGED TEAL (Spatula discors) [b]
NORTHERN SHOVELER (Spatula clypeata) [b]
AMERICAN WIGEON (Mareca americana) [b]
RING-NECKED DUCK (Aythya collaris) [b]
LESSER SCAUP (Aythya affinis) [b]
MASKED DUCK (Nomonyx dominicus) [N]
RUDDY DUCK (Oxyura jamaicensis)
Podicipedidae (Grebes)
LEAST GREBE (Tachybaptus dominicus)
PIED-BILLED GREBE (Podilymbus podiceps)
Fregatidae (Frigatebirds)
MAGNIFICENT FRIGATEBIRD (Fregata magnificens)
Here we are, very intent on something in the canopy. Photo by participant Rick Woodruff.
Pelecanidae (Pelicans)
BROWN PELICAN (SOUTHERN) (Pelecanus occidentalis occidentalis)
Ardeidae (Herons, Egrets, and Bitterns)
GREAT BLUE HERON (Ardea herodias)
GREAT EGRET (Ardea alba)
SNOWY EGRET (Egretta thula)
LITTLE BLUE HERON (Egretta caerulea)
CATTLE EGRET (Bubulcus ibis)
GREEN HERON (Butorides virescens)
YELLOW-CROWNED NIGHT-HERON (Nyctanassa violacea)
Threskiornithidae (Ibises and Spoonbills)
GLOSSY IBIS (Plegadis falcinellus)
Cathartidae (New World Vultures)
TURKEY VULTURE (Cathartes aura)
The endemic Black-billed Parrot was another usually difficult endemic that showed well for us. Photo by guide Jay VanderGaast.
Accipitridae (Hawks, Eagles, and Kites)
RED-TAILED HAWK (JAMAICENSIS) (Buteo jamaicensis jamaicensis)
Rallidae (Rails, Gallinules, and Coots)
COMMON GALLINULE (Gallinula galeata)
AMERICAN COOT (Fulica americana)
Recurvirostridae (Stilts and Avocets)
BLACK-NECKED STILT (Himantopus mexicanus)
Charadriidae (Plovers and Lapwings)
BLACK-BELLIED PLOVER (Pluvialis squatarola) [b]
SEMIPALMATED PLOVER (Charadrius semipalmatus) [b]
KILLDEER (Charadrius vociferus) [b]
Jacanidae (Jacanas)
NORTHERN JACANA (Jacana spinosa violacea)
Scolopacidae (Sandpipers and Allies)
LEAST SANDPIPER (Calidris minutilla) [b]
SPOTTED SANDPIPER (Actitis macularius) [b]
GREATER YELLOWLEGS (Tringa melanoleuca) [b]
LESSER YELLOWLEGS (Tringa flavipes) [b]
Laridae (Gulls, Terns, and Skimmers)
LAUGHING GULL (Leucophaeus atricilla)
ROYAL TERN (Thalasseus maximus)
Columbidae (Pigeons and Doves)
ROCK PIGEON (Columba livia) [I]
WHITE-CROWNED PIGEON (Patagioenas leucocephala)
RING-TAILED PIGEON (Patagioenas caribaea) [E]
COMMON GROUND-DOVE (Columbina passerina jamaicensis)
CRESTED QUAIL-DOVE (Geotrygon versicolor) [E]
RUDDY QUAIL-DOVE (Geotrygon montana)
Participant Dick Williams got this lovely mirror-image shot of an immature Green Heron.
CARIBBEAN DOVE (Leptotila jamaicensis jamaicensis)
WHITE-WINGED DOVE (Zenaida asiatica)
ZENAIDA DOVE (Zenaida aurita)
MOURNING DOVE (Zenaida macroura)
Cuculidae (Cuckoos)
SMOOTH-BILLED ANI (Crotophaga ani)
MANGROVE CUCKOO (Coccyzus minor)
CHESTNUT-BELLIED CUCKOO (Coccyzus pluvialis) [E]
JAMAICAN LIZARD-CUCKOO (Coccyzus vetula) [E]
Strigidae (Owls)
JAMAICAN OWL (Pseudoscops grammicus) [E]
Nyctibiidae (Potoos)
NORTHERN POTOO (CARIBBEAN) (Nyctibius jamaicensis jamaicensis)
A highlight of our tour was finding this little family of Masked Ducks. This is another often difficult species, but our local guide Dwayne and driver Raymond knew where to look. Photo by participant Lois Wood.
Apodidae (Swifts)
ANTILLEAN PALM-SWIFT (Tachornis phoenicobia phoenicobia)
Trochilidae (Hummingbirds)
JAMAICAN MANGO (Anthracothorax mango) [E]
VERVAIN HUMMINGBIRD (Mellisuga minima minima)
STREAMERTAIL (RED-BILLED) (Trochilus polytmus polytmus) [E]
STREAMERTAIL (BLACK-BILLED) (Trochilus polytmus scitulus) [E]
Todidae (Todies)
JAMAICAN TODY (Todus todus) [E]
Alcedinidae (Kingfishers)
BELTED KINGFISHER (Megaceryle alcyon) [b]
Picidae (Woodpeckers)
JAMAICAN WOODPECKER (Melanerpes radiolatus) [E]
YELLOW-BELLIED SAPSUCKER (Sphyrapicus varius) [b]
The Streamertail is known in Jamaica as the Doctorbird. This Red-billed form may be split as a separate species from the Black-billed form, which we also saw. Photo by participant Rick Woodruff.
Falconidae (Falcons and Caracaras)
AMERICAN KESTREL (HISPANIOLAN) (Falco sparverius dominicensis)
MERLIN (Falco columbarius) [b]
Psittacidae (New World and African Parrots)
BLACK-BILLED PARROT (Amazona agilis) [E]
YELLOW-BILLED PARROT (Amazona collaria) [E]
OLIVE-THROATED PARAKEET (JAMAICAN) (Eupsittula nana nana)
Tyrannidae (Tyrant Flycatchers)
JAMAICAN ELAENIA (Myiopagis cotta) [E]
GREATER ANTILLEAN ELAENIA (JAMAICAN) (Elaenia fallax fallax)
JAMAICAN PEWEE (Contopus pallidus) [E]
SAD FLYCATCHER (Myiarchus barbirostris) [E]
RUFOUS-TAILED FLYCATCHER (Myiarchus validus) [E]
LOGGERHEAD KINGBIRD (LOGGERHEAD) (Tyrannus caudifasciatus jamaicensis)
Tityridae (Tityras and Allies)
JAMAICAN BECARD (Pachyramphus niger) [E]
Vireonidae (Vireos, Shrike-Babblers, and Erpornis)
BLUE MOUNTAIN VIREO (Vireo osburni) [E]
JAMAICAN VIREO (Vireo modestus) [E]
Corvidae (Crows, Jays, and Magpies)
JAMAICAN CROW (Corvus jamaicensis) [E]
Hirundinidae (Swallows)
CAVE SWALLOW (CARIBBEAN) (Petrochelidon fulva poeciloma)
Turdidae (Thrushes and Allies)
RUFOUS-THROATED SOLITAIRE (RUFOUS-THROATED) (Myadestes genibarbis solitarius)
This Mangrove Cuckoo we found at Green Castle Estate turned out to be the only one we saw, although we did get some great views of the endemic Jamaican Lizard-Cuckoo and Chestnut-bellied Cuckoo as well. Photo by participant Jan Wood.
WHITE-EYED THRUSH (Turdus jamaicensis) [E]
WHITE-CHINNED THRUSH (Turdus aurantius) [E]
Mimidae (Mockingbirds and Thrashers)
NORTHERN MOCKINGBIRD (Mimus polyglottos)
Sturnidae (Starlings)
EUROPEAN STARLING (Sturnus vulgaris) [I]
Parulidae (New World Warblers)
OVENBIRD (Seiurus aurocapilla) [b]
WORM-EATING WARBLER (Helmitheros vermivorum) [b]
NORTHERN WATERTHRUSH (Parkesia noveboracensis) [b]
BLACK-AND-WHITE WARBLER (Mniotilta varia) [b]
COMMON YELLOWTHROAT (Geothlypis trichas) [b]
ARROWHEAD WARBLER (Setophaga pharetra) [E]
AMERICAN REDSTART (Setophaga ruticilla) [b]
Our driver, Raymond (left) and local guide Dwayne (right) teamed up with Jay to make this a very successful tour! Photo by participant Lois Wood.
CAPE MAY WARBLER (Setophaga tigrina) [b]
NORTHERN PARULA (Setophaga americana) [b]
BLACK-THROATED BLUE WARBLER (Setophaga caerulescens) [b]
YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLER (Setophaga coronata) [b]
PRAIRIE WARBLER (Setophaga discolor) [b]
Thraupidae (Tanagers and Allies)
BANANAQUIT (CARIBBEAN) (Coereba flaveola flaveola)
YELLOW-FACED GRASSQUIT (Tiaris olivaceus olivaceus)
BLACK-FACED GRASSQUIT (Tiaris bicolor marchii)
ORANGEQUIT (Euneornis campestris) [E]
GREATER ANTILLEAN BULLFINCH (Loxigilla violacea ruficollis)
YELLOW-SHOULDERED GRASSQUIT (Loxipasser anoxanthus) [E]
Spindalidae (Spindalises)
JAMAICAN SPINDALIS (Spindalis nigricephala) [E]
Another highlight of the tour was our visit to Rocklands, where we were able to hand-feed the Red-billed Streamertails. Participant Rick Woodruff snapped this image of fellow travelers Woody and Bruce, intent on a customer.
Icteridae (Troupials and Allies)
JAMAICAN ORIOLE (Icterus leucopteryx leucopteryx)
JAMAICAN BLACKBIRD (Nesopsar nigerrimus) [E]
SHINY COWBIRD (Molothrus bonariensis)
GREAT-TAILED GRACKLE (Quiscalus mexicanus)
GREATER ANTILLEAN GRACKLE (Quiscalus niger crassirostris)
Fringillidae (Finches, Euphonias, and Allies)
JAMAICAN EUPHONIA (Euphonia jamaica) [E]
SMALL INDIAN MONGOOSE (Herpestes auropunctatus) [I]
Totals for the tour: 105 bird taxa and 1 mammal taxa